America is planning imposing an arms embargo on Nigeria.
America’s latest action followed the fallout of the indictment of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other matters, which states that at least nine persons were confirmed dead at the Lekki toll plaza when soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse #EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.
The 309-page report stated, “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters, while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags and while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a massacre in context.”
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While indicting the soldiers and the police, the panel stated that it unravelled the fact that after the personnel of the Nigerian Army exited the scene, the Nigeria Police Force followed up with the killing of the protesters, shooting directly at those fleeing, who ran into shanties and the lagoon.
It recommended that all army officers, excluding Maj.-Gen. Francis Omata and men of the Nigerian Army deployed in the Lekki Toll Gate should be made to face appropriate disciplinary actions. The panel also recommended stripping them of their ranks and possible dismissal as they were not fit and proper to serve in any public or security service of the nation.
Already, the United States, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Amnesty International have called on the Federal Government to ensure that the panel’s report was handled transparently even as the military and the Federal Government await the release of the White Paper.
The Nigerian military and its current use of arms were subject to the Leahy vetting, an American rights law that prohibits the United States government from providing military assistance to foreign security force units that violate human rights with impunity.
An arms embargo had earlier been placed on Nigeria, which prevented the country from effectively pursuing the war against terror during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
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However, during the administration of former American President, Donald Trump, the embargo was lifted and the US began selling arms to Nigeria, including 12 Super Tucano aircraft.
America, however, warned that the arms and the soldiers being trained would be subject to the Leahy vetting, meaning that military assistance could be discontinued.
Earlier in the year, Reuters had reported that the United States Congress had initiated plans to impose an arms embargo on Nigeria.
